Ultimate blueberry muffins
Hello?? Anybody there??
It's been a long 1.5 years since my last post. One and a half years! I don't even know how that's possible. So, why exactly the long hiatus?
Well, my last post was January 17, 2017. Three days later, this atrocity happened. I'm hoping Don the Con is a small blip in the lack of morality in this country, but I fear the seeds of ignorance and hatred he has sowed will continue to flourish. It was hard to get motivated to cook through all of that nastiness, let alone sit down and write a blog post, so... I didn't.
And then a few pretty amazing things happened in my life.
First was this: in May 2017, we moved to the Uptown/Argyle neighborhood of Chicago.
Of course it wasn't just the move that was time consuming, but also having to furnish a place that was twice the size of our previous one-bedroom condo! We've still got a ways to go, but here's my favorite room in our home—what I like to call our "sitting room" (aka, library).
Additionally, many trips were taken the summer of 2017. Most memorably: Lugano (Switzerland) and Madrid (Spain) for work (with a quick day trip to Milan squeezed in) + our spur-of-the-moment trip to Cape Girardeau for the solar eclipse. If you ever have the chance to see a solar eclipse—DO IT! It's literally breath taking.
And then after that, we had a crap ton of planning to do for this giant party we threw and celebrated with 200 people in May 2018! Shout out to Matt Mason in Lake Geneva, WI for our gorgeous photos.
So here we are, a few months after the wedding, when I've finally had time to catch my breath *and* have this crazy thing called free time.
I have over 2 dozen recipes lined up just waiting to be blogged about (!!), but I'll start with these blueberry muffins I've made the past 2 weekends for our out-of-town visitors.
Each weekend I tried a different variation: one the traditional way (lemon sugar topping) and one with ground almonds and turbinado sugar. Both were delicious, so you can do no wrong. One slight difference was that the lemon sugar-topped muffins seemed to have more of a crackly, crispy crunch. I found them a bit on the sweet side, but nobody else seemed to mind. :)
One thing I loved about this recipe is that you fill up the muffin tin with batter, which leads to a very distinct "muffin top." The texture on those tops was one of the best I've had in a muffin!
Below are before and after photos for the traditional style and the almond style, respectively. Check out those craggly tops!!
The only caveat is that this isn't a super quick, one-bowl recipe. You're going to spend some additional time prepping these muffins and will have some extra dishes to do. But your efforts will be rewarded with one of the best blueberry muffins you've had.
One of the extra steps in this recipe is creating a blueberry jam, which gets swirled into the batter. It's a phenomenal (and ingenious) way of getting an entire pint of blueberries into only 12 muffins.
Ready to make the ultimate blueberry muffins?
Yours in (finally) being inspired in the kitchen again,
Jacqueline
Ultimate Blueberry Muffins, from Cooks Illustrated
Notes: There are 2 variations to this recipe, one with and one without almonds. I'll include the recipe below, with the optional almond variation noted by asterisks (*) and in italics. I'll also include 3 different topping ideas (one adapted from Smitten Kitchen).
Ingredients
Muffins (+ jam filling)
1 pint fresh blueberries (about 10 to 11 ounces or 2 cups), picked over
1 ⅛ cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 tsp
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces)
**⅓ cup finely ground almonds** (optional)
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
2 large eggs
4 TBSP (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (can substitute with ¾ cup yogurt + ¼ cup milk)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
**1 tsp almond extract** (optional)
Topping option #1: lemon sugar
¼ to ⅓ cup sugar (1 ¾ to 2 ⅓ ounces) (Note: I found the ⅓ cup sugar too sweet, so next time I would decrease to a quarter of a cup, or ~1 tsp sugar atop each muffin. If you want it a bit sweeter feel free to use the full ⅓ cup as recommended in the original recipe.)
up to 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated zest (from 1 lemon)
Topping option #2: almond sugar
⅓ cup finely ground almonds
4 tsp turbinado sugar
Topping option #3: sugar in the raw
¼ cup turbinado sugar (1 tsp per muffin)
Directions
It's been a long 1.5 years since my last post. One and a half years! I don't even know how that's possible. So, why exactly the long hiatus?
Well, my last post was January 17, 2017. Three days later, this atrocity happened. I'm hoping Don the Con is a small blip in the lack of morality in this country, but I fear the seeds of ignorance and hatred he has sowed will continue to flourish. It was hard to get motivated to cook through all of that nastiness, let alone sit down and write a blog post, so... I didn't.
And then a few pretty amazing things happened in my life.
First was this: in May 2017, we moved to the Uptown/Argyle neighborhood of Chicago.
Of course it wasn't just the move that was time consuming, but also having to furnish a place that was twice the size of our previous one-bedroom condo! We've still got a ways to go, but here's my favorite room in our home—what I like to call our "sitting room" (aka, library).
Additionally, many trips were taken the summer of 2017. Most memorably: Lugano (Switzerland) and Madrid (Spain) for work (with a quick day trip to Milan squeezed in) + our spur-of-the-moment trip to Cape Girardeau for the solar eclipse. If you ever have the chance to see a solar eclipse—DO IT! It's literally breath taking.
 |
| Safety first! |
 |
| The indescribable moment we traveled for. Full body goosebumps and tears in my eyes when the totality took place. |
And then after that, we had a crap ton of planning to do for this giant party we threw and celebrated with 200 people in May 2018! Shout out to Matt Mason in Lake Geneva, WI for our gorgeous photos.
 |
| I only look stiff because it was ~50 degrees in May. Thanks a lot Midwest for your crazy weather! |
 |
| My favorite picture from our first look. |
 |
| Was in love with this dress the moment I tried it on. |
 |
| Traditional Assyrian wedding entrance (mawartit chaloo) |
So here we are, a few months after the wedding, when I've finally had time to catch my breath *and* have this crazy thing called free time.
I have over 2 dozen recipes lined up just waiting to be blogged about (!!), but I'll start with these blueberry muffins I've made the past 2 weekends for our out-of-town visitors.
 |
| The almond variation on the classic recipe. |
 |
| The "traditional" style with white sugar. |
Below are before and after photos for the traditional style and the almond style, respectively. Check out those craggly tops!!
The only caveat is that this isn't a super quick, one-bowl recipe. You're going to spend some additional time prepping these muffins and will have some extra dishes to do. But your efforts will be rewarded with one of the best blueberry muffins you've had.
One of the extra steps in this recipe is creating a blueberry jam, which gets swirled into the batter. It's a phenomenal (and ingenious) way of getting an entire pint of blueberries into only 12 muffins.
Ready to make the ultimate blueberry muffins?
Yours in (finally) being inspired in the kitchen again,
Jacqueline
Ultimate Blueberry Muffins, from Cooks Illustrated
Notes: There are 2 variations to this recipe, one with and one without almonds. I'll include the recipe below, with the optional almond variation noted by asterisks (*) and in italics. I'll also include 3 different topping ideas (one adapted from Smitten Kitchen).
Ingredients
Muffins (+ jam filling)
1 pint fresh blueberries (about 10 to 11 ounces or 2 cups), picked over
1 ⅛ cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 tsp
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces)
**⅓ cup finely ground almonds** (optional)
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
2 large eggs
4 TBSP (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (can substitute with ¾ cup yogurt + ¼ cup milk)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
**1 tsp almond extract** (optional)
Topping option #1: lemon sugar
¼ to ⅓ cup sugar (1 ¾ to 2 ⅓ ounces) (Note: I found the ⅓ cup sugar too sweet, so next time I would decrease to a quarter of a cup, or ~1 tsp sugar atop each muffin. If you want it a bit sweeter feel free to use the full ⅓ cup as recommended in the original recipe.)
up to 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated zest (from 1 lemon)
Topping option #2: almond sugar
⅓ cup finely ground almonds
4 tsp turbinado sugar
Topping option #3: sugar in the raw
¼ cup turbinado sugar (1 tsp per muffin)
Directions
- FOR THE TOPPING: In a small bowl, stir together the ingredients for the topping; set aside.
- FOR THE JAM: Simmer half the blueberries (~1 cup) and 1 tsp sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 to 10+ minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
- FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. (Add the ⅓ cup finely ground almonds, if using.)
- Whisk 1 ⅛ cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla (plus almond extract, if using) until combined.
- Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining half of blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)
- Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon 1 tsp of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over muffins.
- Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 20 minutes, rotating muffin tin (180 degrees) halfway through baking. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.
Comments
Post a Comment